An Unseen Complication
by Rossaldinho7
Summary: Gaia's giants have gotten stronger. Now they can only be destroyed by a god, a demi god and a mortal working together. A demi-god from Japan arrives at Camp Half Blood, filled with Martial Arts training. She receives a quest to bring warriors from Japan to the US to help to fight the giants. However, dark forces are at work. Will returning home be her doom?
1. Chapter 1

Natasha was running. Running as fast as she could, but the monsters were catching up. Ever since she had left China, she had been running. She had made the mistake of fighting an Amazon. Unfortunately, she had won and been given the kiss of death. She fled to America, hoping to escape the Amazon there, but ever since she had arrived, she had been chased by monsters more terrible than her worst nightmares. She carried nothing with her as she ran, hoping as she had before to rely on her wit and cunning to carry her through, as well as her mastery of the martial arts.

She couldn't run for much longer. She was tired. She hadn't eaten for days. She had only survived as long as she did because of her strong chi, developed over years of practice. But now, her store of chi was starting to run low. She started to slow down. In the distance was a strawberry farm, but even if she yelled for help, nobody would be able to get to her in time to do anything. She turned to face her pursuers. There were three of them, large, wolf-like creatures that bared their teeth at her as they got closer. Suddenly, there was a roar and a motorbike skidded to a halt in between her and the wolf creatures. One rider drew a crossbow and shot one of the wolves. The second withdrew a hammer, holding on to her companion with her other hand. The front rider shot another crossbow bolt at one of the wolves. The back rider removed her helmet and dismounted, coming towards Natasha as her companion continued to shoot. She withdrew a second hammer as she approached.

"My name's Hayley," said the girl "Are you hurt at all?"

Natasha shook her head.

"Take this," said Hayley, handing Natasha one of her hammers "Stay behind me, watch my back, we gotta get back to the bike." Natasha nodded again, spinning the hammer in her hand. Then both of them ran for the bike. One of the wolf creatures made a beeline for them, jumping to sink it's claws into Natasha. She jumped higher than it had, hitting it once on each side of the head landing on top, then jumping onto the back seat of the motorbike, behind Hayley and the driver.

"Let's go," said the driver, kicking the bike into gear and skidding round and towards the strawberry farm. Natasha could barely keep from flying off the back of the bike.

"Hayley, take the wheel," said the driver, pulling out her crossbow with one hand and continuing to drive with the other as she prepares to move back. Hayley takes the free handle and Natasha, sensing she would have to move forward, did so, allowing the driver to get behind her, aiming the crossbow at the wolf creatures chasing them, she fired again. As Hayley grabbed the handlebars, she accidently hit a small button on the side and a loud sound came from the exhaust. It sounded like a horn. Natasha felt a surge of hope and determination surge through her. She turned back to the advancing monsters. They did not scare her now. It was time to use one of her techniques from the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts.

"Fierce Tiger Blast!" A ball of energy appeared in Natasha's hand and fired at the three wolf creatures. All three were disintegrated. Having spent almost all of her chi, Natasha fell into unconsciousness.

When she came too, she was in an infirmary. She seemed to be uninjured. Was what she had just experienced a dream?

"You're awake," said someone from a chair next to her. A girl with jet black hair and piercingly green eyes sat in a chair at the bedside "My name is Jane, I drove the motorbike that saved you earlier, I wanted to make sure you were O.K."

"I'm fine," said Natasha, sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed "What happened?" I remember the rescue, but I don't remember getting here."

"You destroyed the creatures chasing us," said Jane "I'm still not quite sure how."

"I studied for a while in the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts in Japan," said Natasha "I left because I didn't get along well at all with my master, so I moved to China, where I hoped to find a home, instead, I found myself wandering around the country, extremely hungry, tired, I collapsed in the centre of the town."

"What happened then?" asked Jane

"I trained," said Natasha "Trained against my adopted family, but I had to be careful never to beat them, then, one day, there was a tournament, I tested my skills fighting against Shampoo, one of my sister, and I won."

"How is that a bad thing?" asked Jane, a little confusedly.

"It is an old Amazon tradition that if an Amazon should lose to an outsider, and that outsider is female, they must give them the kiss of death, and hunt that outsider down to destroy them or die trying," said Natasha "So I ran from the people I had once thought of as my family and made my way to America, where, once again, I was chased, this time by creatures I thought to be from Greek Mythology."

"I'm afraid all of the old Greek myths are true, Natasha," said Jane "The gods, the monsters, they're all real and they're all in New York, this is Camp Half Blood, a place where the children of the Gods can be safe from the monsters out there."

"You guys are demi gods?" asked Natasha, amazed

"I believe you are too," said Jane "You would not have been able to get through the barrier that protects this area if you weren't, allow me to properly introduce myself, my name is Jane Kingsley, daughter of Nike, the goddess of victory."

"So who's my godly parent?" asked Natasha "I don't know either of my parents, I've been in an orphanage almost my whole life, until I started travelling."

"You'll find out soon," said Jane "After the Titan War, the Gods agreed to claim all their godly children so that nobody here feels isolated by being here and not fitting in with their siblings."

"What do you do here at this camp?" asked Natasha "What sort of activities do you have?"

"Why don't I show you around," said Jane, with a smile "Show you the different activities, see what your strengths are, then bring you to the Hermes cabin."

The camp was dangerous, there was no doubt about that. The climbing wall was the most dangerous rock climbing area Natasha had ever seen. In the weapons arena, she managed to hold her own pretty well, causing Jane to praise her, saying she must be the daughter of one of the gods of war, Nike, Athena or Ares. Natasha hoped that she would turn out to be a daughter of Nike, like her friend. While she trained, she asked Jane about the other girl who had rescued her, Hayley. Jane told her Hayley had been her friend for a few years since the two of them had both done their first quest together and they had remained friends. They had retrieved the horn of Nike, a magical horn that could inspire confidence and hope in even the weakest of warriors, while devastating enemies.

"Was that the sound I heard last night when Hayley took the wheel?" Natasha asked

"That was it," said Jane "And by the looks of how things turned out, it must have worked, what was that attack you used on the hellhounds?"

"It's called the Fierce Tiger Blast," said Natasha "It's an advanced technique of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, it can only be used with a confident chi, a confident state of mind."

"Can you teach me how to do it?" asked Jane "I can see the combat advantages of having such a move."

"I can't teach you it right away," replied Natasha "To a person untrained in the Martial Arts, it would be too dangerous, I must train you in Martial Arts before teaching you the technique."

"O.K," Jane agreed "I'll train hard and try my best, who knows, perhaps Martial Arts training will help me in combat."

"I'm sure it will," said Natasha "Let's start with the basics…"

Jane was a really fast learner. Over the next few hours, the two of them trained hard against each other, neither of them giving the other any ground. Natasha knew she could just beat Jane quickly, but then what would have been the point of training? If Natasha used her full arsenal of attacks, she wouldn't be fighting fair against Jane, who knew none of these attacks. They had attracted quite an audience by the time Natasha called a halt.

"You learn fast," said Natasha, panting slightly, and wiping sweat off her brow "Thanks for the workout."

"You're welcome," said Jane "Thanks for the training, I think I learned a lot."

"You did," replied Natasha "Those techniques I taught you normally take a few months of training, but you learned them in a few hours."

"Am I ready to try the advanced techniques?" asked Jane

"You are," said Natasha, just as a gong sounded.

"Time for dinner," said Jane, grabbing Natasha's hand "Come on."


	2. Chapter 2

That night, Natasha had a terrible dream. She was standing in a cave. Three giants stood beside a strange, beautiful woman in a white dress.

"Mistress," said one giant, his head bowed "The demi gods become stronger every day and the gods become more and more likely to decide they're worth saving."

"Calm yourself, Gration," said the woman "Now, you know you and Otus must move soon, attack the Hunters and that will draw out Apollo."

"I still say that's risky, Mistress," said another giant, standing to the left of Gration. Natasha guessed this was Otus. "We can only be killed by a god and a hero working together, and the Hunters of Artemis are the absolute best at coordinating with a god to destroy."

"The Fates prophecy has changed, my sons," said the woman "Now, a god and a demi god will not be enough, one of mortal parentage, with no godly blood in their blood line, must work with a god and a demi god to destroy just one of you."

"Then our victory is assured," said the giant Natasha guessed was Otus "The Gods refuse to work with demi gods, to ask them to work with mere mortals is laughable indeed."

"Then you have nothing to worry about, my sons," said Gaia "You are more powerful than anything that has come before you, go, crush the demi gods, the gods and the mortals beneath your heel."

Then the woman turned to you. "Stop your snooping, demi god, this is no concern of yours, now get out!"

The woman's eyes turned white and Natasha woke up, her head felt like it had been ripped open, and she was screaming. The lights came on in the Hermes cabin. Natasha felt hurried footsteps and then felt herself being lifted and taken out of the cabin. Her head was throbbing. She brought her hand up to her head. It came away bloody. Woozy with the sight of her own blood in her hand, she feinted.

When she awoke, it was to once again, find Jane sitting at her bedside, this time, Hayley was also there.

"What happened?" asked Hayley

"Oh," said Natasha "Just a nightmare, must have hit my head by accident, nothing to worry about."

Hayley and Jane exchanged worried looks. "What was the dream about?" asked Jane, a serious look on her face "Natasha this is important, what did you see?"

"I saw a sleeping woman in a white dress," replied Natasha "But now that I think about it, I couldn't really make out any of her features, as if she was sand falling through a sand glass and her features were shifting and changing. She was talking to three giants who called her 'Mistress' and they were talking about attacking some people called the Hunters to draw out Apollo. Oh, and they said something about the giants being even stronger now as they require a god, demi god and a mortal to defeat them."

Hayley and Jane exchanged worried looks. "We need to take her to see Rachel," said Hayley "She said something similar earlier, remember?"

"Natasha isn't ready for a quest," said Jane "We don't want to take her to Rachel until she's ready."

"She was training you, remember?" said Hayley, smiling slightly "She can take care of herself, besides, we're just going to ask Rachel if she can make any sense of what Natasha saw."

"Oh, all right," said Jane, sounding defeated

"Sorry," said Natasha "But who are you taking me to see?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," said Jane "Our Oracle."

"She's really cool," said Hayley "When she's not prophesising your doom, she's really fun to be around."

"Hayley's right," said Jane "Just, don't judge her if she gives you a prophecy as soon as you arrive."

"We'll go as soon as your cleared," said Hayley "Rest now, Natasha, we'll come visit you later."

Bored in the infirmary, Natasha decided to write a letter to her pen-pal. His name was Ranma Sautome. She had met him only once at an Anything Goes Martial Arts tournament, where they had struck up a friendship, perhaps even a rivalry, as they competed for the title. Both her and Ranma had made it to the semi-finals, but Natasha had been knocked out by her opponent. That had been a long time ago, when they were both nine years old. Natasha and Ranma had decided to stay in touch no matter where they ended up, they would keep in contact.

Ranma,

she began, then stopped. Was she even allowed to tell him about the existence of monsters, gods and demi gods? Would he believe her if she told him in writing?

Ranma,

I've moved to the USA. I've found a good summer camp here, so I'm going to stay a while. I'm sorry I haven't written to you in a while, I beat an Amazon called Shampoo and was given the kiss of death so I had to leave China. I've met a couple of nice people here. I've been training one of them in Martial Arts while I've been here, and we're becoming fast friends.

There's a whole world over here waiting to be discovered, and I'm up for an adventure. I hope to see you again soon, and have that match we never had when we were nine.

Hoping your well, Natasha

She folded up the letter and tucked it into her pocket for now. She would have to find out how to post it tomorrow. While she wasn't really tired, she lay back on her pillow, and tried to get some rest. As soon as her head touched the pillow, however, she was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Natasha was woken by Jane. From her bed, she could see that the camp was a bustle of activity.

"There's a mortal at the gates," said Jane "She's asking for you."

"What does she look like?" asked Natasha, sitting up, not feeling any of the pain she had previously.

"Blue hair, long sleeved blouse, breastplate over the top, carrying two weapons I'm unfamiliar with," said Jane "She also has metal wrist guards."

Natasha's heart sank. "I don't believe she tracked me all the way here,"

"Who is it?" asked Jane

"When I was travelling in China," said Natasha "That's the Amazon that gave me the Kiss of Death, Shampoo."

"Harsh," said Jane "Do you want us to drive her off, we can do that?"

"No," said Natasha "I have to do this, I have to fight her myself, do not interfere, or she will give you the kiss too, show me where she is."

"Follow me," said Jane, leading her to the edge of the camp, where Shampoo was waiting.

"Stay here," said Natasha, and walked over the camp boundary line.

"We don't have to do this anymore, Shampoo," said Natasha, as Shampoo charged at her, yelling a battle cry. She sidestepped her and she crashed into the camp boundary, "Please, let me talk to you."

Shampoo threw one of her weapons at Natasha. She caught it, flipping it over to hold onto the handle.

"I won't fight you, Shampoo," said Natasha "You were always like a sister to me, even though I never became an Amazon like you, if you think it's honourable to hunt down and kill a sister…" Natasha walked over and handed Shampoo her weapon back. "…Then go ahead, Shampoo, strike me down."

Natasha closed her eyes. She had never been considered an Amazon, which was why she was never bound by their code of honour, Shampoo though, she was an honourable Amazon warrior. She had every right, as an Amazon, to take Natasha out right then, and that was exactly what she was expecting Shampoo to do. She just held onto her last hope that maybe, just maybe, Shampoo felt the same feelings of sisterhood Natasha felt towards her.

There were two muffled thumps. Natasha opened her eyes. Shampoo's chui had fallen to the ground. She looked up at Shampoo's eyes to find they were filled with tears.

She knelt down on the ground in front of Natasha and, to her surprise, gave her the kiss of death once again.

"What are you doing?" asked Natasha, a little confused.

"Lifting kiss of death," said Shampoo "You been good friend to Shampoo, like sister, but not of tribe, it just misfortune you had to be given kiss of death, now, you no longer have kiss of death, can we be sisters again?"

Natasha pulled Shampoo into a hug as tears fell from her own eyes. "Of course we can, Shampoo," she replied "I never stopped thinking of you as my sister."

"I should not have over reacted to losing," said Shampoo "Amazon tradition of Kiss of Death very stupid sometimes, there other ways to gain honour for the tribe."

"How did you know I was here?" Natasha asked "From what I've been told, this area is supposed to be invisible to mortals."

"Shampoo tracked you from airport to here," said Shampoo "As you not leave, Shampoo assumed you must still be here, but hidden."

"That is strangely logical," said Jane, who had come revealed herself by stepping over the camp boundary.

"Hiya!" exclaimed Shampoo, stumbling back slightly, fumbling below her for her chui, "Don't scare Shampoo like that, magic protecting this place must be very strong."

"What can you see of our camp?" asked Jane

"Cabins all around in horse shoe, with a line of cabins at the bottom," said Shampoo "Forest on other side of camp."

"I thought so," said Jane "You can see through the Mist to some degree."

"What's the Mist?" asked Natasha

"It's the thing that screens this place from mortal eyes," said Jane "Some mortals are special, in that they can see through the mist, Shampoo must be one of the few who can see through it, Shampoo can see the cabins and forest as they are bigger, but she can't see smaller things, such as people, I expect she'd be able to see the giants and monsters though."

"Giants, Monsters," Shampoo snorted "Shampoo has fought dragons and powerful Martial Artists, Shampoo can handle monsters."

"There we are then," said Jane "If there are more like Shampoo in Japan, then we need their help against Gaia and the giants."

"Then we have a quest," said Hayley, also stepping out of the camp boundary. Natasha hadn't noticed she was coming, or she would have warned Shampoo, as Shampoo again reacted in alarm.

"Stop scaring Shampoo like that," said Shampoo

"Your a scary Amazon warrior," said Natasha, grinning "It should be others that are scared of you, and you really should be used to it by now."

She ducked the blow from Shampoo's chui, still grinning. Eventually, Shampoo smiled too, sheathing her weapons.

"Anyway," said Hayley "I've asked Argus to lift the camp security to let Shampoo in, we need to go see the Oracle and find out our quest."

"I can't go on a quest yet," Natasha reminded Hayley "I'm still unclaimed."

"We still need to find out what that dream you had was all about," said Hayley "And I think Rachel is the best person to do that."

"All right," said Natasha "Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

The cave where Rachel Elizabeth Dare, also known as the Oracle, had turned into her home wasn't anything special. It was cluttered with everything Rachel needed day to day, such as clothes, hair brushes and so on

Rachel herself was a young teenage girl, younger than any of the people present. She had red hair She didn't know why, but she had really expected the Oracle to be a lot older than Rachel looked.

"I get that a lot," said Rachel, when Natasha had posed this question to Rachel "I've not been the Oracle for very long, there was a curse on the former Oracle to make her remain as a mummy and continue to give prophecies even after her death."

"My name is Natasha," said Natasha "This is Shampoo, she's mortal like you."

"Nice to meet you, Shampoo," said Rachel, smiling at the blue-haired girl "I'm guessing, though, that you didn't come here just to introduce yourselves."

"No," said Natasha "I had a dream..."

She proceeded to summarise the events of the dream she had had and what had happened when she had woken up.

Rachel looked thoughtful "It has been known that the Fates can change prophecies, but I should be able to feel it when prophecies change, it's too big for me not to realise."

"Could you have missed it?" asked Jane "You said yourself that you turn off from sensing the future while your at school."

"I could have," said Rachel "Let me look again." Her eyes glazed over and she started to sway. Jane and Hayley started forward, grabbing her arms and lowering her gently into a chair. Suddenly, a strange gas came from Rachel's mouth, then she started to speak.

_In the giant wars of old_

_Gaia stood with giants bold_

_In the days of old wars past_

_A prophecy by the fates was passed_

_In these days the fates decree_

_Only gods and demi gods combined will succeed_

_Now the fates have newly decreed_

_Mortals, demi gods and gods combined succeed_

_Go to the shrine of Amateratsu, the goddess of the sun_

_Find her demi god son of her, and he shall tell you where to find your answer, then your quest is done_

_Then your quest is done, return with your allies and fight_

_Otherwise, beware the giant's might_

Rachel seemed to come to. "I didn't mean to give a prophecy there," she said "I guess you four are going to Japan."

"Why Japan?" asked Jane, confused "How did you get Japan from that?"

"Two reasons," said Natasha "One, the mortal warriors needed to fight the giants are in Japan."

"What's the other?" asked Hayley, also seeming confused.

"Ameratsu goddess of the sun in Japanese lore," said Shampoo "Amazon tribe worshipped her when flood came."

"I'm just glad that we found this out before the Argo II departed to find the Roman camp," said Rachel "If they'd gone to fight the giants without any mortals, they would have been killed."

"I'd better go tell Leo now," said Hayley "Maybe I could get him to wait, or maybe even give us a lift to Japan."

"Last I heard, the Argo II wasn't ready to fly yet," said Jane "We'll need to find another way to get there."

"What about Nico?" asked Hayley "He could Shadow Travel all of us to Japan."

"I don't trust him," said Jane "He gives me the creeps."

"Sorry," said Natasha "But who's Nico?"

"Nico is the only living demigod child of Hades, the god of death," said Hayley "Like many creatures of the underworld, he's able to Shadow Travel, essentially, he's able to travel to anywhere where a shadow can or has been cast, however, he's not the only option if we want to shadow travel."

"You mean Mrs O'Leary?" said Jane, Hayley nodded "It's an option, but I thought she was out with Tyson looking for Percy Jackson."

"She was, but she came back with Tyson and a harpy called Ella not long ago," replied Jane "With Percy safe in the Roman camp, there didn't seem any point in continuing to look as the Second Great Prophecy would have them meet up with him regardless."

"So we've decided to Shadow Travel to Japan," said Natasha "But where about in Japan?"

"Shampoo know where to go," said Shampoo "Great Grandmother has shop in Furinkan, which also has many powerful Martial Artists."

"Good luck on your quest," said Rachel "Mrs O'Leary is in her usual place behind the training area, I'll tell Chiron where you've gone, go on, time is of the essence."

Jane lead the rest of the group to the area behind the training hall, to find the largest dog Natasha had ever seen in her life. It was almost as large, if not larger, than a tank and had the appearance of a mastiff dog.

"This is Mrs O'Leary," said Jane, approaching her slowly so as not to excite her "Hey girl, we need transport to Japan."

Mrs O'Leary bowed her head, an indicator for the four of them to climb on. After Shampoo had given her the destination, and Hayley and Jane had run to their cabins to collect their weapons, Mrs O'Leary bounded into the forest, everything went black as they entered the forest. Then, Mrs O'Leary sped up. The four riders held on for dear life as they flew through the darkness. It only took a few seconds until they came out on the other side. They seemed to be around the back of a strange building, that seemed to be a restaurant.

"Welcome Shampoo's restaurant," said Shampoo, as the four of them dismounted Mrs O'Leary and walked away as she collapsed to the ground, snoring.

"I don't blame her," said Jane "Shadow Travel takes a lot out of her as it is, no wonder she's so tired."

Shampoo opened the backdoor and called "Great Grandmother, I'm home."

Natasha and the others followed Shampoo through the kitchen and into a restaurant. A very old woman about the same size as Yoda was balancing on a staff in the room as she surveyed the travellers.

"I know that one," said Cologne, the woman who you had thought of as your great grandmother for a few years "Apparently, your punishment was not enough for you to go back on the kiss of death."

"With all due respect, great grandmother," said Natasha, bowing slightly "Shampoo made an error in judgement giving me the kiss of death, her error in judgement has been corrected, she has reversed her decision."

"I always liked you, Natasha," said Cologne "It was a shame you had to leave, why have you come here?"

"I'll tell you the whole story," said Natasha, proceeding to tell the story since she had left the Amazon village, including about Camp Half Blood and the fact that she was a demi god. Despite the fact that she had no relation to either Cologne or Shampoo, she still trusted them with her life.

"Interesting," said Cologne "So you seek the temple of Amateratsu, the sun goddess, to find her child?"

"Yes," said Jane "Whoever that is knows where we can find the mortals we need to fight against the giants, Natasha thought we should come here to find Martial Artists to come back with us."

"You've come to the right place then," said Cologne "The temple of Amateratsu was demolished long ago, and this temple was built on top, I am her demi god child."

"How come we've never heard of you before," asked Hayley, a little confused.

"When demi gods are born abroad, in China and Japan to gods with yet further personalities, they are never revealed to the world," said Cologne "With just the Greek and Roman demi gods, there have been many wars and the gods personalities are split between the two sides, imagine if a third personality were introduced, besides, demi gods are relatively safe in countries such as China and Japan, as all the monsters follow Western civilization, leaving Eastern civilization alone, I'm not sure why, but there you go."

"So if you are the child of Amateratsu," said Natasha "That means you should be able to tell us where we can find Martial Artists to come back and help in the giant war."

"Correct," said Cologne "The place your looking for is the Tendo dojo, two, perhaps three, of the Martial Artists you will need will be there, the others are all in some way connected to these two."

"Can you look after Mrs O'Leary?" asked Jane "She's a bit tired."

"The hellhound in the backyard?" asked Cologne, as everyone nodded "Very well."

"Shampoo, can you take us to the Tendo dojo?" asked Jane

"Shampoo can do that," said Shampoo, leading the way out the front door.

Tendo Dojo

Soan Tendo sat in the breakfast room reading his morning newspaper. All was quiet, all was peaceful, that is, peaceful and quiet until Ranma and Genma entered the room, fighting each otheras they did. Inevitably, like almost every morning, both of them ended up in the pond outside the house, Genma changing into his panda form, and Ranma changing into his girl form.

"You know, Sautome," said Soan "If you'd just be nice to your son for a change, this wouldn't happen every morning."

The panda that was Genma Sautome started scribbling on one of it's boards, but Ranma poured hot water on both of them to change them back.

"You know, that's not a bad idea, Tendo," said Genma "Then again, Ranma and I have been with each other our whole lives, maybe some time apart is what we need, a little break from each other."

"I've been thinking the same thing, pop," said Ranma, a little angry as he was about to attack Genma again when a voice called out

"Ranma!" Ranma turned to see Shampoo standing there with three other girls. All three of the girls wore orange t-shirts, and two of them were wearing necklaces with beads on them. The girl closest to Shampoo had dark brown hair and looked vaguely familiar to Ranma. The other two girls had lighter hair and were both slightly taller than the other girl and Shampoo.

"Ranma, Akane!" yelled Shampoo again. That struck Ranma as odd. Shampoo hated Akane, so why would she want her to come out? Also, why was he still speculating about what she might want rather than going out and finding out? He walked out to meet up with Shampoo and the other two girls. A few moments later, Akane joined them.

"So, what's going on?" asked Ranma.

"This is my good friend Natasha," said Shampoo "She train hard with the Amazons, but never became one herself, I gave her the kiss of death, but then lifted it when I realised I made mistake."

"You've certainly learned a lot since Jusenkyo," said Ranma, not realising the bushes near him rustle, or Akane's pet pig P-Chan (A/N: P-Chan is actually Ranma's rival Ryoga, which Ranma knows but Akane doesn't know that) watching them.

"We came here to ask for your help, Ranma," said the girl next to Shampoo. Ranma looked at her again, sure now that he had met her before somewhere "You don't remember me? I suppose that's understandable, we were only eight when we last met."

"Oh no," said Akane "Not another suitor for Ranma."

"What?!" asked the girl "Oh no, nothing like that, we just became good friends during a fighting tournament when we were both eight, we kept in touch as pen friends, but never met up again."

"Now I remember," said Ranma "Your Natasha, right?"

"Yes," said Natasha "There's a lot we have to explain, could we please come in, it could take a while."

"All right then," said Akane "I'll go tell Kasume we're having guests for breakfast."

"Oh we wouldn't want to impose," said one of the other girls "Really, we're all right."

"It won't be a problem," said Akane, smiling "We've got eight people living in this house at the moment, and we always make too much for us all to eat, it'll be no trouble at all."

"Thank you," said the last girl, who hadn't spoken yet "You're very kind, what's your name?"

"Akane," said Akane "Now come on in, the breakfast will be getting cold."


	5. Chapter 5

"So you three kids are the children of greek gods?" asked Nabiki, in a disbelieving voice. After everyone had been introduced properly, (and Happosai had tried to grope all the new girls and was catapulted into the sky by their united hits) Natasha and the three demi gods had proceeded to explain the concept of greek gods and their children on the earth.

"Yes, that's true," said Hayley "I'm the daughter of Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire."

"What, are you telling me you can conjure fire?" said Nabiki, still sounding skeptical.

"Not me," said Hayley "But my half brother Leo can."

"And who's your godly parent?" asked Nabiki, turning to question her.

"I don't know yet," said Natasha, turning away "I really wish I did."

"When you come to Camp Half Blood," explained Hayley "Your supposed to be claimed by your godly parent, but Natasha wasn't there long and wasn't claimed when she was."

Nabiki was staring at a spot above Natasha's head, where something was starting to appear.

"And when your claimed," said Nabiki "Would it look something like that."

Everyone, Natasha included, was now staring at a small owl floating in the air above her head.

"The Mark of Athena," whispered Jane "You're a daughter of Athena, goddess of Wisdom and battle strategy."

"Well?" said Hayley "Now do you believe us?"

They all nodded wordlessly. The mark vanished. Suddenly, the door to the stairs opened and a boy wearing hiking boots and trousers and a yellow jacket entered the room.

"There was a prophecy," said Jane, apparently oblivious to the boy's presence, "Made by the Fates long ago, that only gods and demi gods working together could destroy the giants of Gaia, but now Gaia has returned, and her giants are stronger than ever, Gaia's sorcery has made the giants that remain stronger and the others will return, now, the giants can only be destroyed by demi gods, mortals and gods working together, Zeus was unwilling to admit he needed demi gods, and closed Olympus, finding out he also needs mortals will mean that he may refuse to help us at all, but we must show them that mortals have as much fighting spirit as gods and demi gods, so we came to you, the bravest and strongest of the mortals' fighting spirit, to help us to fight the giant threat."

"Gaia has an army," said Hayley "Both myself and Jane have seen it, not just giants, but cyclops', hellhounds, gorgons, storm spirits, even some of the minor gods are on her side, there are heroes working to close the doors of death, stopping Gaia's armies from coming back from the dead over and over again, but without your help, we won't even be able to kill the giants once."

"I will help," said the boy, drawing the room's attention to him for the first time "I, Ryoga Hibiki will help to defeat Gaia."

"Thanks, anyone else," asked Natasha "We were told that you would be able to gather the best fighters in this land to help us."

"I'll help," said Ranma "I know a few others who could help us also, Ryoga, let's go find the others and bring them here."

After Ranma and Ryoga left, Hayley turned to Akane.

"What about you, Akane?" she asked "Would you come and fight with us?"

"Sure," she said "I'm not on the same level as Ryoga and Ranma, but I'll come along and do my best."

"Maybe you could help me," said Natasha "I've been trying to teach my companion demi gods Martial Arts, to get them to be proficient in unarmed combat, but they only ever saw me fight against Shampoo, and I think a practice match between you and me could be perfect."

"Sure," said Akane "Come on into the dojo."

She lead Natasha, Hayley and Jane out of the room.

"You coming, Shampoo?" asked Natasha, looking over her shoulder

"No, Shampoo go help Ranma and Ryoga look for warriors to come with us," said Shampoo, leaving the dojo.

Natasha walked into the hall area of the dojo, where Akane was already waiting in a battle stance.

Natasha walked up to stand opposite her and mimicked her battle pose.

"Begin," said Natasha, and Akane charged, yelling, and threw a punch at Natasha, but she was no longer in the place where the punch would have hit.

"When your fighting," said Natasha, now behind Akane "It's best to try to analyse your opponent."

Akane turned, and threw another punch at her "Take Akane for example, she relies, for the most part, on her brute strength, she trains hard to increase that strength, believing that she can easily overpower anyone with lesser strength."

Natasha dodged another punch, and Akane followed her, punching again, and again, Natasha dodged.

What's she doing?" whispered Hayley "All that's really accomplishing is making Akane mad."

"Just watch," said Jane, having trained more frequently with Natasha than Hayley had.

"However," said Natasha, as she got to the center of the spiral "Her anger and reliance on her brute strength is also a weakness, because a good martial artist can redirect that energy, Hiryu Shoten Ha!" and she punched upwards, creating a small tornado throwing Akane backwards into the wall.

She got up, a little tired but unhurt.

"You can't let your emotions get the better of you in the heat of battle," said Natasha, helping her up from where she had fallen "And you can't rely on your brute strength, that sort of attack takes a lot of chi to keep up, and the chi you use can be absorbed by your opponent to use in an attack like that."  
"I need that strength," said Akane "With Ranma and Ryoga and you using all those special techniques, the brute strength is my compensation for not having any special attacks of my own."

"I can teach you some techniques that are suited to your abilities," said Natasha "If you go out there without learning some, you won't be able to keep up with the more powerful."

"That's not how it works with demi gods," said Hayley "Each Olympian god passes down a different gift to some of their children, but the rest have to rely on their own ability, but still, in teams of demi gods, we rely on each other for our individual skills."

"But Akane will be needed in this battle, and the techniques I want to teach her will complement her fighting style quite well," said Natasha "Just like the Fierce Tiger Attack will enhance Jane's attack."

"Me and Hayley still need to learn more," said Jane "If the battle is going to require martial arts training, then teach us."

"It doesn't work like that," said Akane "You need to train for a while, master your chi, before you can start to learn how to channel it like Natasha did there, I never learned it because there's nobody here besides Ranma and Genma who know how to do chi attacks, and they're always too busy training with each other."

"All right, Akane," said Natasha "Ready to learn the barrier chi technique?"

**Market Place**

"So, who should we ask?" asked Ryoga

"Well, Shampoo and Akane are already there, what about Ukyo and Mousse?" said Ranma

"Sure, why not," said Ryoga "I'm unsure if we should invite Mousse, but I agree with Ukyo,"

"I said Mousse as he's already proficient in fighting with weapons," said Ranma "I reckon that knowledge might be needed where we're going."

"I kinda see your point," said Ryoga "So, why Ukyo then, she's proficient with weapons as well."

"Yeah, but I invited her because if we have to eat Akane's cooking, it'd kill us just as surely as the monsters would," Ranma reasoned

"Again, you have a good point," Ryoga sighed "But who else, I mean, five of us, not exactly an army, is it?"

"Ranma!" shouted a voice, and he was wrapped in a bear hug from behind.

"Shampoo?" said Ranma "What are you doing here?  
"Shampoo come to help Ranma find warriors to fight monsters," said Shampoo

"That gives me an idea, actually," said Ranma "What about your sisters, Lin Ling and Lun Lung?"

"They visiting Cologne now," said Shampoo "I'm sure they help."

"So counting both of them, Mousse and Ukyo, along with the ones we've gathered already, that's still only eight of us for over twelve giants created to beat gods," said Ryoga "And that's not even counting the other creatures in Gaia's army."

"Well," said Ranma "Let's not count Mousse, then, then there will be seven mortals to match up with the seven demi gods in that prophecy Hayley and Jane told us about."

"That makes sense," said Ryoga "Let's go get your sisters and then head back."

**Tendo Dojo**

Akane was sitting on the ground, panting.

"You've done well," said Natasha "Just keep practicing that technique, when you use it in battle, it should act as a shield absorbing enemy chi to continue to protect you, while at the same time, revitalising you, if you ever need it, it should give you time to recover your energy, and gather your chi for another attack."

"Thank you for the training," said Akane, still panting "I'm sorry that I pulled you away from training your demi god friends."

"They'll be O.K," said Natasha "After all, next time, we'll both be training them, I'll teach you another chi attack when your ready."

The doors opened and seven people came in. Two little girls, a third, older girl with a spatula on her back, along with Shampoo, Ranma and Ryoga.

"Time to go then," said Hayley "Let's head back to Shampoo's shop and get Mrs O'Leary so we can get back."

"We'll head for Camp Half Blood," said Jane "I think these people deserve an explanation of what's happening before we join up with the others."

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from down the street. They ran out of the dojo to see Mrs O'Leary tearing down the street.

"She's panicking," said Jane "I've never seen her this scared before, what's eating her?"

"It doesn't matter," said Hayley "We need to help her." All eleven of them ran down the street towards Mrs O'Leary. It was only when they got closer that they saw what was chasing her. A small area of what looked like a field of grain was chasing Mrs O'Leary up the street.

"What are they?" asked Ranma

"Grain spirits," said Jane, panting "They're allies fo Gaia."

"We'll need to kill them," said Hayley, pulling out her hammers. Jane pulled out her sword and prepared to attack too. Mrs O'Leary skidded to a halt right in front of them, turned and roared at the approaching field. They seemed to quiver in fear and stop.

"They've been shaken," said Jane "It won't last long, we have to get on quickly."

"Lin-Ling and Lun-Lung go first," said the two little girls in harmony with each other, jumping up onto the hell hound's back and readying their weapons to repel any grain spirits who tried to jump at them.

"Ukyo, Shampoo, you get up next, Akane, get behind them," said Natasha "Ranma, you go up behind Akane, we'll repel the rest of them as long as we can, give you time to get up, then we'll shadow travel back to camp."

Then, she turned to the approaching spirits and yelled "Fierce Tiger Blast!" a beam of chi energy came from her hands and incinerated many of the grain spirits. Hayley and Jane followed up with sword and hammer attacks, keeping the spirits immobilised.

"They're up," said Hayley "Mrs O'Leary, start running slow enough for us to catch up, but not the remaining spirits."

Together, they ran from the grain spirits, and jumped up, one by one until all eleven of them were clinging in some way to Mrs O'Leary.

"All right, Mrs O'Leary," said Jane "Let's go home."

Everything faded to blackness and for a moment, they felt as if they were accelerating. Then, they appeared in the centre of the dinner area in Camp Half Blood.

**Camp Half Blood**

"Get clear," said Hayley, as everyone at the tables moved out of the way to make room for the eleven riders to jump off. Mrs O'Leary, exhausted from the journey, fell off the table, crushing a bench in the process, and started snoring.

"Has the Argo II left yet?" asked Jane, questioning the campers who were still hanging around the walls regaring the group with suspicion.

"Not yet," said one girl, stepping forward "Leo's putting the finishing touches on it, who are these people?" As the girl stepped into the light of the fire, Natasha saw her blonde hair and grey eyes, strangely familiar.

"Annabeth," Jane acknowledged "Rachel gave us a prophecy about a change to the prophecy about only gods and mortals being needed to kill the giants, now, mortals, demi gods and gods are needed to kill a giant, they must work together, Rachel also told us where to find the mortals we would need to fight in the giant war, this is them."

The girl called Annabeth looked over every person there, her eyes lingering on Natasha, as if she recognised her.

"There are three demi gods among you," said Annabeth "There is a prophecy, the Second Great Prophecy, which says that seven demi gods will answer the call, but they are supposed to come from the Greek and Roman demi god camps."

"Prophecies can be interpreted in many ways," said Jane "Maybe your idea of what it means is not the correct one."

"I know you want to believe Percy is going to play his part in this," said Hayley "And you may be right, perhaps the three of us are not really supposed to come with you, but we can go to your destination by a different route, perhaps get there before you and scout out the area before your arrival, then the seven demi gods can still be the seven you want them to be."

"We've brought seven mortals," said Natasha "If you are believing that the Second Great Prophecy is true, you must also believe that what Rachel says about mortals being needed must be true too, the prophecy didn't say anything about you being unable to accept aid from mortals and other demi gods."

During the trip to Japan, Natasha had heard the Second Great Prophecy in full from Hayley and Jane. It had struck her that a part of the prophecy was probably too much just to get the lines to rhyme. All this talk of storms and fires couldn't really be true, could it?

"I see your point," said Annabeth, nodding to Natasha "What's your name?"

"Natasha," she replied "Daughter of Athena."

Annabeth seemed to falter, then regained her composure "Nice to meet you," she said "Sis."

"We have family reunion later," said Shampoo, butting in on the conversation "Now we decide what to do?"

"We'll still have to go to the Roman camp," said Annabeth "There was that part of the Prophecy too, you know, 'Foes bear arms to the doors of death' I'm almost certain that means that only Greek and Roman demi gods together can succeed in this quest, although if prophecies as old as the Fates are changing, then I don't know what we're supposed to do anymore."

"We make our own destiny," said Jane, speaking up so the rest of the camp could hear her "Gaia thinks she has us beat, she thinks that mortals, demi gods and gods could never work together to defeat her giants, so myself, Natasha and Hayley shall leave, we will go to Olympus, and we will convince the gods to come to help us, you have your path, we have ours, take these seven mortals with you, you will need their aid in this quest, and we will bring you the aid of the gods before this is over."

Several demi gods in the surrounding area cheered.

"Well said, daughter of victory," said Annabeth "We have our quest, you have yours, you must succeed and once you do, come to our aid with haste."

"What of our team?" said Natasha, indicating where the seven martial artists were still sitting next to the sleeping hellhound.

"They can come with us," said Annabeth "If your right, then I think I have a strategy that will work in our favour."

"Good luck on your quest, sister," said Natasha "I just wish I could have gotten to know you better than I did."

"As do I," said Annabeth "Perhaps after we've destroyed an army of giants, defeated mother nature and fought our way to the doors of death to close them, then we can get to know each other."

"We'll crash in the Nike cabin," said Jane "It'll be easier for us to all be together when we set off for Olympus tomorrow."

"Good night, Annabeth," said Natasha, as they left, heading for Jane's cabin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Somewhere in New York**

Jane's bike sped along the street at speeds no car could match. All three of them would have been thrown off or destroyed by the G's if not for the magical wards placed on the bike by a child of Hecate and the improvements made to the bike by Hayley from the Hephaestus cabin. Still, a crash would be fatal at this speed. Natasha had never moved so fast in her life, with the possible exception of when she had Shadow Travelled to Japan on the back of Mrs O'Leary, and she was almost certain that this was faster.

Jane weaved the motorbike between buildings, and then slammed a button on the handlebars as they sped towards a building. Like ever other time Jane had done this, Natasha covered her eyes, although she knew it was stupid. The bike had been modified to be able to drive on any surface at the push of a button. They were now driving vertically up the side of a building. A few blocks over, Natasha saw the Empire State Building, towering over the building they were driving up, also much wider than the building they were on, meaning they could see it from the opposite side. The motorbike reached the top of the building and sped to the edge of the other roof, flying off. Jane hit another button, causing two glider wings to extend from it at either side as it glided down onto Fifth Avenue. Retracting the wings, Jane drove up to the front of the Empire State Bulding.

"Olympus is here?" asked Natasha, looking up at the Empire State Building

"This building is the crown of Western Civilization," said Hayley "And the gods live at the tip of that crown."

"We've got to be careful," said Jane "Olympus is closed, Zeus will not take kindly to our intrusion."

"It has to be done," said Hayley "If we do not gain the gods aid, then Gaia's giants will never die, if our friends don't close the doors of death, Gaia's armies will never die, there's so much riding on everthing here, we can't slip up, no matter the cost, we must succeed."

They walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building. Natasha had always wanted to come here. It's history was fascinating, but it had also been the stage for many battles in movies, it had become an iconic landmark that could be used for such epic battles. Jane had told of a real life battle that had happened during her time at Camp Half Blood, between the demi gods and the armies of the Titan Kronos. Now, it was where the gods sat, Olympus closed, not coming to aid their demi god children, just like in the Titan war.

Jane walked right up to the male receptionist next to the elevators.

"We need to get into Olympus,"

"Can't help you," said the male receptionist "Even if you are demi gods, Olympus is closed on order of the big man himself, you can't get in."  
"Is there nothing you can do?" asked Hayley "Our people are dying, we need the gods help, or all of this fighting agains Gaia and her armies will be for nothing."

"Maybe we can help," said a voice from behind them. The turned to see three people standing there. There were two women and a man, and they all radiated power. The woman

in the middle had wings and she was smiling at Jane, the man was frowning at Hayley and the last woman was looking at her. The energy surrounding the three was like chi, like the energy in all living things, but so much of it, so much power, that Natasha was sure that these people could not be human.

"Mum," said Jane, looking straight at the winged woman. She opened her wings.

"You have come far my daughter," said the winged woman, who Natasha assumed must be Nike, the goddesss of victory "I could not let you and your friends leave without us giving you some form of aid."

"The prophecy changed," said Hayley, addressing the three of them, but directing her words at the man, who Natasha assumed was Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths and fire, and Hayley's father "Now Gaia's giants are only beatable by a god, a demigod and a mortal working together."

"We have heard," replied Hephaestus "While our help is not much, we will give what we can."  
That left the last woman, who Natasha had still not identified, but judging from the fact that the parents of the other two demigods had come, it didn't stretch her much to guess that this was Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

"Mum?" asked Natasha, looking at Athena. She nodded "I don't know what to do, I followed the prophecy as best I could, finding martial artists from Japan to join up with the demi gods to fight Gaia, but these giants were created to destroy the gods, and there are twelve of them, whereas there are only three of you, we need more and I think I know where to get them."

"Go ahead, my daughter," said Athena, looking at her with a knowing smile.

"When we were in Japan," said Natasha "I came across a demi god daughter of Amateratsu, the Japanese goddess of the sun and the heavens, I am just making guesses here, but I would first assume that as the Olympian gods follow Western civilization, and watch over them, there is a second set of gods, worshipped by the Japanese and Chinese, that follow Eastern civilization, if that is so, perhaps they would be more willing to help us than some of the gods here, no offence meant to you guys."

"None taken," said Athena "Unlike my father Zeus, I am more willing to admit that our situation here is very compromising, if Zeus would just agree to help out the demigod children, then we might be able to defeat Gaia, but perhaps the gods of the East may be more cooperative."

"It's a risky strategy," said Natasha "I wouldn't suggest it if we didn't really need it, but if it's true what we've heard, if it's true that the Gods here are split by the fact that they are worshipped by both the Romans and the Greeks, giving them split personalities, then perhaps more united gods are needed to fight against Gaia, again, I'm not trying to offfend you, but if the gods of Olympus are unwilling to help us, we should go elsewhere."

"I wish Zeus would be more cooperative with the demigods," said Athena "But unfortunately, you are right, if they exist, we must seek the aid of the Eastern gods, I like your strategy, you truly are your mother's daughter."

"I'll call my sister and brothers," said Nike "The children of Styx are with you."

She pulled a horn out of her belt and blew it.

"You might want to look away," said Hephaestus "A god's true form can destroy a person."

Natasha, Jane and Hayley turned away as Nike began to glow, blowing her horn again, she grew even brighter. When the glow faded, four winged people, two male two female, stood in the lobby of the Empire State Building.

"Demigods," said Nike "May I introduce Kratos, Zelos and Bia, my siblings."

"We're ready to help," said one of the three

"We'll need to get to Japan," said Jane "My bike won't be able to get us to an airport and across to Japan in time, is there anything any of you can do?"

"We'll meet you there," said Athena "We have our own ways of moving, but you three will have to be carried by Nike, Kratos and Bia when we teleport, as they are more minor gods, their aura will not harm you as much as it would a normal god, and your training in martial arts should help you, as the energy used to transport us is the same used in martial arts."

So, three of the winged gods, including Nike, who grabbed her daughter, Kratos, who took Hayley and Bia who took you, and then, the three gods glowed again and they appeared, once again, in the town where Natasha, Hayley and Jane had picked up the seven martial artists to help against Gaia.

"Where do we go?" asked Hayley, "Why are we back here, wouldn't the headquarters of the Japanese gods be somewhere in the capital rather than here?"

"I don't know," said Natasha, "We've come here for information, there is an old Amazon woman here that claims to be a demi god child of Amateratsu, if anyone knows how to contact the Japanese gods, she would know it."

"Where is she?" asked Athena, "I would very much like to meet this demi god."

"Ranma said she owned a restaurant around here," Natasha replied, "If I could just find it..."

"What are you back here for?" said a voice from behind Natasha she recognised too well. She turned to find Cologne balancing on top of her stick.

"We seek the aid of the gods of Japan," said Athena, "My father, Zeus, refuses to give aid to the demi gods even after the prophecy had changed, but we heard tell of more gods from the East who might be more willing to help us, it may be our last hope."

"Please come in," said Cologne, leading them away, hopping on her stick.

"This is the demi god you told us about?" asked Hephaestus, disbelievingly.

"Do you not sense her chi?" asked Natasha "She is one of the most powerful Martial Artists I've ever met, more powerful than even Ranma in most circumstances."

"Still," said Athena "Powerful or not, she is our only lead to finding the Japanese gods, so I suggest you hold your tongue, Hephaestus."

Hephaestus would have responded, but they had entered the restaurant Cologne had led them to.

"Ramen?" asked Cologne

"Ten bowls, thanks Cologne," said Natasha, then when Cologne had finished, she passed them round.

"The Japanese gods each have their own realm," said Cologne, "Much like the Greek gods, each set of gods only controls half of the world, but neither set are aware of the other's presence, if you truly want the aid of the Japanese gods, you must go to one of the temples built in their honor and summon them, then you must ask for their aid."

"How should we ask?" asked Natasha, hanging on Cologne's every word.

"Give an offering to the god," said Cologne "And while giving your offering, invoke the name of that god and ask for them to show themselves, I can teach you the phrases needed to summon each god when we get there."

"I think we should split up," said Natasha "If we have to trek to each temple, we'll waste time that we don't have, Gaia's forces are going to Greece, if we don't hurry, the Western world will crumble as the God's seat of power is destroyed."

"I guess we'd better make haste then," said Cologne "I'll take you to the temple of my mother."

**Argo II**

Akane gazed out at the sky around her. It was utterly peaceful. They floated over areas of fluffy cloud, not a building visible. She turned to her partner Annabeth. When the seven martial artists had gone with the demi gods to the Roman camp, collecting the other three demi gods from the Prophecy, it had been decided that each Martial Artist would pair up with one of the demigods. Having decided that at some point, they would have to work together, they had decided to train together, the demigods teaching the mortals to use weapons, while the mortal martial artists taught the demigods martial arts. Annabeth seemed to be picking up many of the basic techniques very quickly.

"I must say," said Akane, panting after a particularly intense sparring session, "You really catch on fast."

"Thanks," said Annabeth, panting herself, "It helps being a child of Athena, goddess of wisdom, all of her children are born with a thirst for knowledge."

"There's something I'm a little confused about," said Akane, "Why are we going to Rome, I thought the Gods seat of power is in Greece."

"It is," said Annabeth "While we were down in the Roman camp, we recieved a quest that may lead us to the Athena Parthenos, which has powers that may aid us against Gaia."

"Why did Leo attack with the ship?" asked Athena, "What was he doing?"

"I don't know," said Annabeth "But he's made relations between the Greek and Roman demi gods even worse, it'll be even harder to get them to work together now, the prophecy suggested that the Athena Parthenos could bring the two groups of demi gods together."

"When we tried to stop him, he said something about eidolons," said Akane "What exactly are those?"

"Vengeful spirits," said Annabeth "When we die, mostly, our spirits go to the underworld, but some that felt wronged in their life will return to haunt the living, but these spirits can also possess human bodies, and that's what you saw with Leo, it seems to be gone now, but I can't be sure, it could just be lying in wait inside him, Ukyo's been warned, she's watching him."

Ukyo had been paired with Leo. Her mastery with weapons meant she didn't need to be trained in weapon combat by the demi gods, and her attention to detail might help in trying to spot monsters while Leo drove the boat. Those were the reasons Annabeth had given for pairing Ukyo with Leo, but her true reasons had now been revealed.

"I just hope there aren't any more eidolons on the ship," said Akane.

"Let's not worry about that now," said Annabeth, getting into position for another sparring match, "Let's move onto the next technique."

Belowdeck, Shampoo and her two sisters, Lin Ling and Lun Lung were training against Hazel, Frank and Piper. They were all holding Celestial Bronze weapons, created for them based on their signsture weapons with some spare Celestial bronze Leo had left over, and they were starting to get used to the new weapon weights. Piper was barely able to keep up with Shampoo as they sparred. Before they had left, the three Amazons had agreed to drop all Amazon customs, they were supposed to be working as a team with these people, after all, and if they couldn't spar with them for fear of having to kill them or marry them if they lost, then it wouldn't be long until most of the people on the ship ended up dead.

"Good, Shampoo," said Piper, continuing to try to fend her off with her dagger, "There's really more you could teach me about combat than I could teach you."

"Shampoo think you never seen real combat before," said Shampoo "But Shampoo best fighter in Amazon village where Shampoo grew up, if wish, Shampoo will train daughter of love."

Shampoo was having a little trouble with the English language, having spoke Chinese as her first language, learning Japanese second, both Eastern languages, she had never learned to speak English, so just as when she was learning Japanese, she spoke about herself in the third person.

"Thanks Shampoo," said Piper, "I'd appreciate it."

Lin Ling and Lun Lung were faring just as well as Shampoo was against Hazel and Frank, but they were both better trained in combat than Piper was and were pushing their opponents back. Hazel and Frank held their own until both sets of combatants flopped onto the ground, exhausted.

"That was an intense workout," said Frank, panting slightly, "I had no idea you two were so good."

"We learn from big sister Shampoo," said Lin Ling, looking up adoringly at her big sister.

"There's not much I can teach you at this time, Lin Ling," said Frank, "But maybe later, when we land, I'll show you a real fight."

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking," said Hazel, looking at Frank wide eyed.

"I am," said Frank "All of the mortals need experience fighting the creatures we usually have to fight, if they go straight into combat against Gaia's armies, then they'll be totally unprepared."

"I see your point," said Hazel "All right then, but don't go too hard on them, they've never fought any of the creatures before."

Shampoo took Piper out onto the deck where Akane and Annabeth were still sparring.

"You really think you like Ranma don't you?" said Piper as she walked with Shampoo to the side of the boat.

"Ranma Shampoo's Airen," said Shampoo.

"I'm sorry Shampoo," said Piper "I'm the child of Aphrodite, and I've never seen any sort of connection between you, you have told me of your Amazon code, of your policies towards outsiders, but should you really try to force someone into a loveless marriage, Ranma is obviously in love with Akane, Shampoo, I can see that, Aphrodite sees that, but you have to give up pursuit of Ranma, at least during this trip, as you and your sisters have agreed, your Amazon laws don't apply here, you can do whatever you want, like or love whoever you want, and please Shampoo, try to look further than what is right in front of you, stop relentlessly pursuing Ranma."

Shampoo wanted to argue, she really did, but a part of her said Piper was right. Her constant attempts to get Ranma to fall for her had failed, she had been trying to follow her Amazon code with him, but had rejected it when she had lifted the Kiss of Death on Natasha, she had not told Natasha this, but the Kiss of Death could not be lifted once it had been put on. This was a serious oversight, Shampoo thought, for a tribe living so close to Jusenkyo, where many in the tribe would go to train. Ranma had been unlucky, and had been given both the Kiss of Death and the Kiss of Marriage while in different forms, there was no Amazon law that said what to do in that situation. Shampoo had decided that Ranma was really male, but really, he was half female.

Shampoo stopped thinking about it. She was going to give herself a headache if she continued thinking it through. The point was, that while travelling with the demi gods, in a different country with different laws which some would argue were even above Amazon law, Shampoo, having sworn off her Amazon laws while on the boat, was free to do whatever she liked, date whoever she liked. But now, the question was who?


	7. Chapter 7

**Argo II**

Annabeth and Akane continued to spar as they spoke.

"You seem very angry, Akane," Annabeth was saying, as she jumped backwards to avoid a kick, "Do you always put this much anger into your Martial arts?"

"All the time," said Akane

"Are you sure you can't find something else to draw from?" asked Annabeth "Anger will cloud your judgement when you need it most, if you take any lesson from Athena, it's to keep a level head and don't let your emotions get the better of you, no matter how strong those emotions may be."

"Like what?" asked Akane, "I'm the weakest out of all the seven martial artists here, so I have to be more aggressive to keep up with them."

"If you're always angry," said Annabeth, "You'll never master the technique Natasha taught you."

Before Natasha, Hayley and Jane had left for Olympus, Natasha had taken Annabeth aside to tell her about all of the martial artists that would be going with the Argo II, including their curses, strengths and weaknesses.

"I taught Akane a new technique," said Natasha "Her weakness is that she is too aggressive, the technique I taught her cannot be fuelled by aggression, it just won't work, she believes aggression is her only way to focus, but if she wants to use that technique, she'll have to find that focus somewhere else, she knows the procedure for doing the technique, but without the right kind of focus, she'll never be able to master it."

"What do you suggest?" asked Annabeth

"I don't know," replied Natasha "That's something you'll have to figure out on your own, that's your path, you and Akane must learn from each other and get used to working together."

A hand on her arm brought Annabeth back to the present.

"Sorry," she said "Natasha told me that your intent matters when you use that technique, if your intent is to hurt, then the shield will not work, it'll only work if your intent is to protect, when you are being aggressive, you aren't focusing on protecting others, you want to hurt others."

"So you're saying that Natasha taught me a technique that I can't properly use?" asked Akane "How does that help me?"

"My sister wanted you to learn how to find your focus in a place other than in aggression," said Annabeth "If you can master that technique, you would have found that focus."

"Where do I find that focus?" asked Akane.

"Well," said Annabeth, looking thoughtful "I always find that I'm most calm when I'm reading a book, when I'm immersed in someone elses world, if you think about it, you are completely immersed in another world, a world of gods and demi gods and monsters, just expand that awareness, and you'll find your calm."

"Sorry," said Akane, wondering if Athena's daughter had gone completely crazy, "Are you saying I should think of all this as a story in some book?"

"We're all stories, Akane," said Annabeth "Right now, we're writing another chapter in the legends of the greek gods, in a few hundred years, all of our names shall be written down for all to read, and correct me if I'm wrong, but magical curses, greek gods and monsters are supposed to just happen in stories."

"Yeah," said Akane, "I suppose your right."

"When your able to maintain that awareness, you shall become calm, and with that calmness, you shall be able to cast the Focus Shield," said Annabeth "Only the most experienced of you martial artists shall be able to use your specialised techniques, the Seven are novices in martial arts, so you can't possibly expect them to learn it by the time we have to face Gaia."

Suddenly, Leo shouted from the front that they were coming into land. It wasn't long until they landed in a lake.

"Why'd we land here?" asked Akane

"Leo said something about getting some Celestial Bronze to power the ship," said Annabeth "It'll be a good opportunity to get some training on land, more space than being cooped up on the ship."

Suddenly, Percy, Jason, Ranma and Ryoga ran out of the doors to the ship interior, and all of them jumped onto dry land, still fighting each other without weapons as they did so.

Ryoga was fighting Jason, who was barely holding his own, while Percy fought with Ranma. Percy was faring slightly better than Jason. Having grown up having to fight bullies in schools had made him quite a good fighter already, and with Ranma's tutelage, he had grown even stronger. Suddenly, Ryoga crouched to avoid Jason's kick, and touched one finger to the ground, shouting:

"Let's see how you handle my breaking point technique," The ground cracked under the four fighters, causing Ranma to stumble, and Percy used his momentary distraction to throw him at the lake. But as he hit, and went under, instead, a red headed girl resurfaced.

"What?" said Percy, looking at the girl with amazement, "How?"

"I told you I had a curse, right Percy?" said Ranma "This is it, I get turned into a girl whenever I touch cold water."

Annabeth frowned. Ranma and the others had explained how their curses worked, and even what they turned into, so why was Percy so surprised?

"Percy, Jason, Piper, Ranma, Ryoga, Shampoo, you go find the tar and the Celestial Bronze," said Leo, "Monsters could sense demi god presence, so if we're leaving the ship, there should only be three demi gods per group."

"I agree," said Annabeth, "I'll take Akane and look for the lime, any objections?"

Nobody had any objections, so the groups split up, the larger group going to find the bronze and tar, while a smaller group went to find the lime.

**Amateratsu's Shrine**

"Here it is," said Cologne, stopping the gods and demi gods, "The Shrine of Amateratsu."

The shrine had taken a lot of time to get to the shrine. It was at the very top of a hill covered in forest, but it was worth the climb. In the rays of the setting sun, the shrine seemed to glitter, it's yellow and white colours shimmering in the twilight. The trees surrounding it, which should have shaded it from the sun, were reflecting the light back at it, making the clearing where the shrine sat as bright as day despite the late hour.

"We should tread carefully here," said Cologne, "My mother does not ask for offerings anymore, but if we are to call her, we must make an offering to invoke her presence."

Cologne pulled out fruit picked during the spring and summer, handing them round to the group.

"It must be this that you offer," said Cologne, "Other offerings will not invoke the god's presence."

The Greek gods followed Cologne into the shrine and, like the demi gods, placed their offerngs on the altar.

"It's strange," said Athena, "Back in New York, I always felt my Roman half trying to take control, but here, I feel more whole."

"The Eastern gods are more like your people than you think," said a voice behind them. A beautiful woman stood at the altar. She was tall, had light brown hair and was wearing a kimono that seemed to be made of the rays of the sun "For example, I am very similar in the belief of the people to the god Apollo in Greek myth, but instead of being born from the titans, I, as well as my brother and sister, were a product of my father's misery at being unable to free my mother, now, we are trying to make up for it, it is just a myth of course, we exist eternally, we do not exist, and yet we do, I enjoy the story the mortals came up with to explain my own origins."

"Amateratsu," said Cologne, "I have brought these demi gods and gods from New York to seek your aid and the aid of your family to defeat Gaia rises, she will threaten the world, not just New York, not just Greece, but the whole world."

"The greek gods ask for your help," said Athena, "My father has refused to help t"e demi gods in their battles, but we decided to take matters into our hands, we can see we need help even if he does not, the question is, goddess of the sun, will you help us?"

"I will need to discuss this with my siblings," said Amateratsu "But if they do not help you, I can assure you of my aid at least, I shall consult with them and then make for New York, either alone, or with aid from my siblings and father."

"Good luck, Amateratsu," said Natasha, bowing respectfully, "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," said Amateratsu, "However, I will not send you back with no aid to your cause, I would ask that Cologne accompany you back to New York, and if she can, assist you in your cause."

"I shall, mother," said Cologne, "After all, I might get the chance to meet up again with my Shampoo."

"Good bye Amateratsu," said Athena, shaking the sun goddesses hand, "I do hope we meet again."

"Until we draw swords together on the field of battle," said Amateratsu, bowing to Athena, then, she faded, the offerings on her shrine vanishing with her.

"We must return you to Camp Half Blood," said Athena "I fear that war is soon to break out there between the Greeks and the Romans, we need to get there to stop it."

Nike shook her head. "You and Hephaestus should return to Olympus," she said "Your much more affected by the Greek/Roman divide than the children of Styx, you are fine here, but when we get back to New York, you will both be warring with yourselves, we are not as affected."

"If you would allow," said Cologne "I would ask that you allow me to return with you also, as Amateratsu's emissary so to speak, I will try to act as mediator for the conflict, get each side to send someone to the table to speak for the Greeks and the Romans, it may help to at least temporarily help the split personalities of your gods."

"That actually might help, Cologne," said Athena "I can see what Amateratsu meant, myself and her are very alike."

"Good bye, mum," said Natasha "I hope we meet again on the battlefield."

"We shall, my daughter, we shall," said Athena

"Good bye, Hayley," said Hephaestus "I shall also meet you on the battlefield against Gaia."

Athena and Hephaestus glowed again, and again, the demi gods shielded their eyes.

"Time to go," said Nike, once again grabbing hold of Jane while her siblings grabbed Cologne, Natasha and Hayley.

The four gods vanished, taking the demi gods with them.


End file.
